Reese Witherspoon: 'I Was So Confused Before I Had Kids'

Reese Witherspoon has been making hit movies for more than 20 years, but it wasn't until she had her children that the Oscar winner said she became a better, more mature woman.

"I feel like I was so confused before I had kids, I almost got in my own way," Witherspoon told Elle for its November issue. "Having kids made me clearer about who I was as a woman. I just wanted to exhibit good qualities for my daughter."

What kind of qualities did the "Legally Blonde" star want to exhibit?

"I was a little competitive before I had kids- probably really competitive, to be honest," she said. "It really made me let go of that."

"I started noticing a couple years ago that I wasn't seeing women as the stars of movies. I'm seeing them as the guys' girlfriends, or so-and-so's wife," she added. "I just thought: God, if I don't start buckling down and start producing some movies, what's my daughter going to see in the movies?"